Ml5 



"PS 1353 
.Jk7S 



ANSWER TO INGER80LL. 



BY 



DAYID H. MAKBLB. 



Copyright, 1885. 
By David H. Marble. 



c. 






Ffcfc3^ 1885 

^ u Na - o^ 

1?F WASHlViQi^ 



ANSWER TO INGERSOLL. 



By DAVID H. MARBLE. 



If God is but a myth, 

The Bible only fraud, 
And IngersoU is right. 

And we Ve no o;uidino: Lord, 

We 're like a ship at sea, 

With rudder cast aside ; 
We 're torn by every storm. 

We 're borne on every tide ; 

We wander without aim ; 

No port have we in view ; 
And, as the poor dumb brute, 

We care not what we do. 

When sorrows gather o'er. 

And grief weighs down our heart, 
Each bears his lot alone, 

There 's none to take our part. 



And when we breathe our last, 
We have no soul to rise 

From out this mortal form, 
To dwell beyond the skies. 

If Ingersoll is right, 

(And millions then are wrong,) 
The earth, the sun, the moon, 

And all the starry throng, 

By chance, each took its place ; 

By chance, all Nature's laws 
Assumed their perfect form, 

Without a higher cause. 

And can this surely be, 
That we, sapremely blest 

With intellectual gifts. 
By m.an alone possessed,. 

Is it then to chance 

The credit must be given,. 
No wisdom gave us life. 

And pointed us to Heaven? 

And so, perliaps, that we,. 

Instead of being men, 
A tree, a bird, or brute ^ 

Might otherwise have been. 



a 



And thus fortuity 

Gave man the highest berth, 
And placed him far above 

All other life on earth. 

No ! no, it cannot be ! 

We *11 vreigh this matter well 
Before we give up God, 

And join the infidel. 

Are works of art by chance? 

Do ships sailo'er the deep 
Without a hand to guide 

Their proper course to keep ? 

The palace, wondrous pile. 

The miles of iron road, 
The engine with its strength. 

That draws the pond'rous load ; 

Are these the things of chance? — 
No master laid their plan, 

And wrought them into shape, 
To aid his brother man ? 

We know full well the truth, 
By chance they could not come ; 

Had they but formed themselves, 
Why — Ingersoll had won. 



Now pause in deepest thought, 
. Cast forth thine eye abroad, 
View other works than man's. 
Then say, there is no God. 

What is all human art 
Compared to this we see ? 

And yet the simplest thing 
A perfect mystery. 

And for this cause alone, 

The infidels proclaim 
All things have made themselves, — 

Our God an empty name. 

So might the savage say. 

Of the first craft he sees advance 
Unto his lonely shore. 

This is the work of chance. 

I know not how 't was done ; 

I cannot understand ; 
But then this thing, I see, 

Was never made by hand. 

Philosophy is void, 

Science beyond its laws. 
All reason led astray. 

That shuns the One Great Cause. 



Think you, that chance could form 

The universal law ? 
Could form the planet train, 

Without the slio^htest flaw ? 



'o'^ 



And hold each star in place, 
And give the earth the sun, 

But for whose cheering warmth 
The world were never done ? 

For life could not exist 

But for his kindly ray ; 
The earth, a dreary waste 

Revolving on its way. 

The moon keeps on her course, 
Illumes the darkened night, 

Reflects the glorious sun 

When passed beyond our sight. 

She has her destined part ; 

Perchance the earth wouldst die, 
Attraction lose its power, 

Our globe in pieces fly, 

But for the silvery orb 
That follows in its round, 

Nor varies from her path, 
A secret most profound. 



The water's ebb and flow, 
The moon shall e'er control, 

And more, that 's not revealed. 
Which we can ne'er unroll. 

Throughout the starry sky. 
Upon the earth's broad plain. 

The ocean vast and deep. 

The winds that sweep amain, 

The lofty mountain peaks, 
The fertile valleys low, 

The rivers' winding flood, 
Increasing as they flow, — 

In all we see and hear. 
In nature's broad expanse, 

Each shows the Father's hand. 
Disclaims the work of chance. 

And was there no design. 
No plan, no purpose great. 

First drawn before the world. 
Or man reached his estate ? 

Is reason e'en so false. 

And are we then so blind. 

We cannot trace the cause 
Unto the Master Mind ? 



And shall we fold our hands, 
While others lead us on, 

Nor use the soul within 
To tell us we are wrono*? 



■"o ' 



The spirit of our God 

With man's shall hold converse ; 
If we but ask of Him, 

Who made the universe. 

His voice shall reach our hearts ; 

His answer plain shall be : 
Go forth and view my works, 

Thy answer '11 come to thee ! 

Thou canst not move or touch, 
Observe the tiniest thing. 

The earth, the firmament, — 
The proof of God they bring. 

All laws of nature fit 

Complete in every good, 

Dovetailed at every turn. 
And ages have they stood. 

They show a mighty thought. 
Since each a purpose fill ; 

Perfected at the first 

By Heaven's majestic will. 



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God laid the sacred plan 
His wisdom did commend, 

Descried when he began, 

Just how all things should end. 

And for our use he spread, 
Throughout the land and sea, 

Enough for all our wants. 
And all to us are free. 

He makes the rain to fall, 
To nourish earthly life ; 

Gave night for man to rest 
After his daily strife. 

The creatures of the field. 
The birds that o'er us glide. 

The fishes of the sea, — 
Man calls them to his side, 

As destined at the first. 
In God's designing hour, 

For succor unto man, 

Their beauty and their pow'r. 

The world was made for man ; 

Adapted to his need ; 
Who though he shun the Lord, 

Receives more than his meed. 



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The forests everywhere, 

High arching overhead ; 
The mines that bring us warmth, 

The food by which we 're fed ; 

The fountains that supply 

The lamps with evening flame, 

And all that man enjoys. 
Tell of the Father's name — 

Almighty in all things. 

Creative and immense, 
Of all the world the judge, 

Being omnipotence. 

The inward light that 's ours. 
The light that 's Heaven born, 

Will ever turn from chance 
With loathing and with scorn. 

But if we will not see. 

In darkness blindly grope. 

Then chance may hold our thoughts 
Within its evil scope. 

But shall we vilely fall, 

Nor let our spirits rise, 
That we may look to Him, 

The Throne beyond the skies. 



10 

Where God drew up the plan 
That Nature loud proclaims, 

And shows, in every form. 
The Majesty that reigns? 

We cannot doubt the truth. 
E'en turn which way we may, 

We see the hand of Him, 
Our one and only stay. 

And is the Word untrue ? 

With hypocrisy its curst ; 
The prophets uninspired, 

Of liars e'en the worst ; 

Its pages wanting sense, 
Its contradictions plain, 

The servants of our God, 
A race devoid of shame. 

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 

The poet David, too. 
And Moses, given of God 

To lead His children throuoh 



■^o"- 



The sea, where Pharaoh died. 
With army loud arrayed — 

(The Egyptian owned not God, 
Nor His commands obeyed.) 



11 

And so, as on we read, 
We find the patriarchs all, 

Deceivers of the world, 
(Agreeing with Ingersoll), 

And truth is all untruth, 
And what is right is wrong, 

The Book, a stirring tale, 
To ages past belong. 

And is the Testament New 
A creation of the brain ; 

Foundationless as Christ, 
The One who suffered pain? 

And why should we e'er doubt 
That Christ and God are one ? 

Is it beyond belief 

The Father hath a Son 

As like unto Himself, 

In mercy, love, and grace. 

In charity for man 

Who seeks a hiding-place, 

Where grief and sorrow flies 
Far from his troubled breast ; 

Finds shelter from earth's cares 
With Him who giveth rest ? 



12 

To him who thinketh deep ; 

Who studies from the soul ; 
G-ives thought to all the laws 

That manifest the whole, — 

His spirit soon shall see, 
Nor doubt within his heart, 

As all produce their like, 
So God his counterpart. 

On earth all duplicates. 
So He, our Father, God, 

Is parent to our Christ, 
To us, unlike our Lord. 

His Son came down from heaven. 
While man must surely die, 

Before the soul is free 

To soar from earth on high. 

Ah, no, there's nothing strange 
That Christ is Heaven's own. 

With us was God and man. 

Yet shares the Father's throne. 

O slanderer of the truth ! 

How wicked is thy speech ! 
Whate'er thy purpose is, 

Thou'rtiike the slimy leech 



13 

That sucks the human strength 
While man doth weaker grow ; 

Or as the bravado vile 
In defiance strikes the blow. 

God saw the urgent need, 
For how, without a guide. 

Could man his knowled^-e o;ain 
That Heaven has supplied ? 

And in the early days, 

When men, as babes, knew naught. 
Through man to man, in love, 

Our God his wisdom brought. 

To show his children all 

What he would have them do ; 

If they would please their Lord, 
His righteous path pursue. 

There's nothing covered there. 
If with our hearts we read ; 

Nor contradicts itself. 
If carefully we heed 

The meaning of its words ; 

Its edicts, God inspired ; 
In them we '11 find no wrong. 

And nothing wrong required. 



14 

He gave them at the first 
Such laws as suited best 

Their understanding weak ; 
Prepared the glorious quest 

That 's roused the heart of man 
That he may try to find 

A holy, purer way, — 

The advancement of mankind. 

And so as man increased 
In power to comprehend 

Commands to higher thought, 
God sent our deai'est Friend. 

In spite of guileful hearts 

Who Ve sought in vain to slay 

The Saviour, Son of God, 
He lives with us to-day. 

His teachings cannot die, 
For they are Heaven sent ; 

Though infidels oppose 
They never shall prevent 

The spreading of His word, 
Till all on earth agree. 

That nothing came by chance, 
But by God's majesty. 



15 

Infidelity, avaunt ! 

Thou art a hideous thing. 
Keep thou thy lies from me, 

The gloom that thou wouldst bring. 

I do not seek thy shade ; 

My soul revolts at thee ; 
My Leader is my Lord, 

My Father, Deity. 

And wouldst thou urge thy face. 
And think to win my soul ; 

Drive reason from my heart, 
And in thy lists enroll ! 

As Christ to Satan said. 

So I would say to thee. 
Thou Monster of Untruth, 

Get thou behind of me ! 

I will not hear thy speech ; 

Thy tongue speaks naught but lies ; 
Thy words are loathsome, foul ; 

Thy discourse I despise ! 

Remain thou far behind. 

For thou wouldst steal the world ; 
Praise up thyself, while Chance 

Thy pirate flag unfurled ! 



16 

The earth belongs to Grod, 
And everything that lives ; 

The heavens above, below, 
And all that therein is. 

The fame that thou dost crave. 
It never shall be thine ; 

Thy battle shall be lost, 
The victory, divine ! 

Then let us sing His praise, 
With loyal hearts and true. 

Lift up our souls to God ; 
Our vigilance renew. 

Keep ever on the side 
Of Christ, the Holy One, 

And by his loving help 
We ne'er shall be undone. 

We '11 hold ourselves aloof 
From skeptic's dark embrace ; 

Our souls shallsee the light, 
The grandeur of His face. 

For God ! our cry shall be ; 

For Him, who died to save. 
We '11 plant His standard firm ; 

In glory let it wave ! 



17 

We '11 hear no more of chance ; 

The Bible be our pride ; 
With God and Christ our boast, 

All else were well defied. 



A PRAYER TO BE SAVED FROM 
INFIDELITY. 

O God ! my Father and my Lord ; 
Oh, let me read from out Thy Word 
With understanding. And Thy pow'r 
Be with me in this, my hour. 
When reason seems to mock her throne, 
And I in darkness stand alone. 

Oh, help me, God, while thus I stray 
Far from Thy mighty love to-day. 
To find the path the Saviour 's given, 
That leadeth to the gates of Heaven. 
The unbeliever's sins forgive. 
And by His side, oh let me live ! 

And oh, this dark, dark cloud destroy ; 
Oh, give me faith without alloy. 
That I no more shall turn from Thee. 
And in Thy Book, oh may I see 
That all its pages are divine. 
And all its treasures they are mine ! 



18 



Oh, take my hand, for I am weak ; 
And in my heart, oh, wilt thou speak. 
And save me from an awful doom. 
Dispel, O Christ, this fearful gloom; 
And where I 'm wrong, oh, make me right, 
And turn my darkness into light, 

I feel, O God, like one bereft 
Of all the world, and I am left 
A wanderer o'er this life's highway, 
Dreading to die to end the fray ; 
Groping blindly with my load, 
jSTor gaining rest upon the road. 

Oh, come, thou ever-saving One ! 
Oh, come, and guide the traveller home ! 
Oh, come, before this life is o'er, 
And lead me to the Heavenly shore. 
O God, my Father, come to me ; 
Oh, come, thou mighty Trinity! 



J 






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iLSh!^^ °'' CONGRESS 

016 iss;™" 



